Author Donates New Book Sales Proceeds to Fight Climate Change

COLUMBIA, Md. - Oct. 23, 2018 - PRLog -- "There is no historic precedent" for the social and economic changes necessary to avoid a climate catastrophe by 2040 according to a report by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The hurricanes and flooding in North Carolina and Florida, wildfires in California, and drought in the Midwest are only indications of larger disasters to come unless, as The Washington Post put it, there is a, "transformation of human civilization at a magnitude that has never happened before." The Post's Margaret Sullivan called climate change "the only story that matters."

Award-winning environmental writer Ned Tillman wants his newly released YA novel The Big Melt to help keep the climate change story front and center.

Tillman, described by Maryland environmental educator Ann Stroyzk as, "a proven cheerleader for the environment," is donating all proceeds from book sales to non-profit organizations with a focus on climate change and preserving the environment. In addition, Tillman has created a fund to donate copies of The Big Melt to schools for classroom use. Donors can send tax-deductible checks to The Howard County Conservancy (https://www.hcconservancy.org/) (MD) with the memo line The Big Melt.

The Big Melt is set in the fictional town of Sleepy Valley, which is similar in many ways to the town where you live. Things seem fine, but no one is thinking about the future.  Protagonists Marley and Brianne wake up the day after their high school graduation, their lives are turned upside down, and their plans for the future changed forever. A series of climate catastrophes descends on Sleepy Valley, and Marley and Brianne must struggle to save their town and the world as they know it. Through their struggles, they find their voices and purposes for living.

"This book will shock people into paying attention and inspire people of all ages to work together to deal with issues that are bigger than us as individuals," Tillman told The Baltimore Sun. "We may be nearing the point of no return in fighting climate change, but the book's message is that the next generation will rise to the occasion."

Publishers Weekly/Booklife called The Big Melt an "inspiring and unique call to action for young people."

Can fiction help save the Earth?

Tillman told a Baltimore Sun reviewer, "If readers identify with the people in the story and get inspired, I believe that it's just one more tool to get us to where we need to be."